When a pair of bald eagles wove a 5-foot nest of sticks on an isolated hillside in suburban Allegheny County in 2010, it was seen as a sort of environmental milestone -- nature's confirmation that the Pittsburgh region had cleaned up its act.

Residents of Clay Township, Butler County, found the dead eagle in a stream on May 5 and reported it to the Pennsylvania Game Commission. On Thursday, Northwest Region Director Keith Harbaugh said an examination of the carcass revealed that the bird had been shot.

Earlier this week, the game commission and the Humane Society of the United States announced more than $5,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrest of the shooter of a bald eagle in Cambria County.

"It's a bald eagle. No one should shoot a bald eagle, period. Everyone should know that," said Tom Fazi, southwest region education officer with the game commission.

Fazi said the wounded eagle was found on May 10 by people riding ATVs in Allegheny Township, about 70 miles east of Pittsburgh. He said the bird was bleeding from the head when a game commission worker arrived, and it died while being taken to the commission's veterinary hospital in State College. Lab test results confirmed that the bird was shot by a small-caliber gun.

"It could have been an accident," Fazi said. "But if it was, the right thing to do would have been to turn yourself in."

The bald eagle in Clarion County was not one of which the commission was aware. Fazi said there is a nest near where the injured bird was found, but it was not from that nest.

Wounding or killing bald eagles is a state and federal crime. The birds are no longer considered endangered or threatened under federal guidelines, though the species remains on the threatened list in Pennsylvania.

"We are looking for anyone who may have seen something, heard something, heard someone talking about this. Any information is valuable to us, and we encourage people to contact our regional office," Fazi said.

Anyone who has a tip can call the game commission's Southwest Region office at 724-238-9523, the Northwest Region Office at 814-432-3187 or the tip hotline at 888-PGC-8001.